Standing Tall

Rebecca and Lindsey met Erica and Tiffany at the Springfield Diner. Since Rebecca's sisters were in town for the wedding, there wasn't enough space at her house for everyone to spend the night after the bachelor/bachelorette party last night so they agreed to meet for breakfast before heading to the salon for hair and makeup.

"How are you feeling this morning Becks?" Erica asked as they started in on their food.

"I was hurting when Linds got me up, but since I've had coffee I'm doing better. What about you guys?"

"We're good. We didn't drink as much as you though," Tiffany laughed. "I think I have video of you riding the bull."

"I can't believe you let me do that," Rebecca shook her head as she laughed.

"How could we not? You didn't want the guys to think you were chicken," Lindsey reminded her.

"Damn that Claude Giroux....he's such an instigator," Rebecca grinned.

"But he's a cute instigator," Erica said.

"Yeah we know Er...but today only Becks gets to be all mushy about her man," Lindsey joked.

"Oh alright...." Erica pretended to roll her eyes. "Speaking of...did you talk to Scott this morning?"

"Yeah. He called as I was getting out of the shower. He sounded like he was feeling alright...not sure about the others though."

"Luke said Bray and Jake weren't feeling too hot but the others were fine," Tiffany commented.

"That's better than I thought," Rebecca chuckled as she glanced at her phone to check the time. "Ladies we better go...can't be late for our glam session," she smiled.

"Are we going back to your house to pick up your mom and the girls?" Lindsey asked.

"No, Johanna is going to swing by and pick them up and meet us at the salon. She said it was no problem since she has the van and has to drop off her kids with a family friend in the area anyway," Rebecca said as the collected their purses and made their way to their cars.

"Sounds good," Lindsey responded. After a few silent moments while driving to the salon she said, "I still can't believe that we're here right now Becks. I really thought you were never going to get married after Brad left. You didn't want to have anything to do with any of the guys we all tried to set you up with..."

"Yeah. I just went out with them to pacify you guys. I didn't have any interest in relationships. I didn't want to get hurt again. But I ended up getting hurt again anyway, didn't I...by the same damn person," she shook her head at the thought of how stupid she was to trust Brad again.

"But at least you had Scott to help you get through it this time though. Of course, had you accepted his first proposal you wouldn't have been in that situation now would you..." Lindsey jabbed her friend in the arm with her pointer finger.

"I couldn't let him do that. He had told me that he didn't want to get married again. I knew it was just for show. I had to say no," Rebecca responded.

"Well, I didn't tell you this back then but...he called me after you had married Brad and he was away on the road trip. He was really upset about the whole situation and admitted to me that it was affecting his game. He didn't know what to do," Lindsey said as she drove them to the salon.

"Seriously? Why didn't you tell me?" Rebecca asked.

"Scott asked me not to. We talked for probably an hour or two...he told me why he told you he didn't want to get married again and that he had proposed to you and you didn't think he was serious. But he was most definitely serious. He told me that he had a gut feeling that Meg was telling the truth and he wanted to stop you from making a mistake. But he couldn't convince you."

"I know. It was all a mess," Rebecca said.

"And that's how I knew he truly loved you...even though you had only been dating a couple weeks, I knew he would do anything for you to keep you from getting hurt. I'm just glad he didn't give up and waited for you to figure it out," Lindsey said.

"So am I. I don't know what I'd do without him. I certainly wouldn't have the most perfect family that I have now," Rebecca smiled.

"Have you asked Tyler yet?" Lindsey asked.

"No, Scott wants to wait until after the wedding, like when it's just us at the house. Just in case he doesn't want to...Scott doesn't want to put him on the spot in front of everyone," Rebecca responded.

"Can't argue with that. But I don't think he'd have a problem with it, do you?"

"I hope not, but he's a teenager. Anything could happen," Rebecca laughed.

They arrived at the salon and made their way in to meet the rest of the bridesmaids and Rebecca’s mother. "There's the youngest member of my perfect family," Rebecca said as she saw her younger sister, Rachel, holding the nine month old.

"How has she been so far?" Rebecca asked her mother.

"She's been perfect. No problems at all. But she'll definitely need a nap before the ceremony," Jean said.

"She can sleep while we're getting into our dresses," Rebecca responded as she took her daughter from her sister.

Rebecca kissed her head and stroked the small amount of hair she has. "Are you having fun with Mommom and your aunts, miss Gia? Do you miss Daddy? I bet he misses you."

"He already called me so he could talk to her," Jean laughed. "She doesn't know it yet, but she's got him wrapped around her finger."

"Yes she does," Rebecca agreed, "from the moment we found out she was coming." Rebecca looked at Gia, just as she had everyday for nine months, and admired how she was the perfect blend of both her and Scott. Strawberry blonde hair that was more Scott's than hers, Scott's blue eyes but her nose and mouth.

Scott was so excited when Rebecca had confirmation from her doctor that they were pregnant that he wanted to call everyone and anyone to tell them the good news. Rebecca had to reason with him to not tell anyone for at least another month, especially because of her age, she wanted to wait in case there were complications. He relunctantly agreed.

But he needed to tell someone, and who better than the person that allowed them to find each other in the first place? He told Claude the next morning at practice and made him swear on his life that he would not say anything until they made the official announcement. Rebecca would surely kill them both if she found out.

It only took two weeks for Claude to slip in front of Rebecca one night while they were out to dinner. "I thought you agreed you wouldn't tell anyone Scott," Rebecca scolded him.

"I couldn't keep it in...I had to tell someone. Plus, Lindsey knows...it's only fair that one of my friends knows before everyone else," Scott smirked.

"You are incorrigible," Rebecca laughed.

"And you love it," Scott joked.

"No, I love you," Rebecca smiled.